Dallas Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines - DCHRP

Jennifer was a fiery organizer who always had amazing speeches that dug right to the heart of the issue she was sharing about. That passion was balanced by a deep love and respect for the local communities, particularly working class Black communities here in Dallas. She showed off this radical love in the care she demonstrated for the family of Atatiana Jefferson. Jennifer was a friend of the Filipino community and the cause of freedom and democracy in the Philippines. She highlighted this solidarity at numerous actions and at a 2021 webinar on the intersections of support between the movements for Palestinian, Filipino, and Black Liberation. Jennifer was a phenomenal woman, organizer, mother, and beloved member of our community. She will be dearly missed. Rest in power comrade! ❤️✊

Rest In Power, Jennifer Rose Miller Update: For everyone who would like to pay their respects, Jennifer's funeral will be Friday, May 5th at Bethany Church (📍 6851 Wichita Street, Forest Hill, TX 76140). It is with great sadness that the Dallas branch of the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression has learned of...

LESS THAN A WEEK AGO, son of a deposed dictator and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited New York City at the invitation of U.S. President Joe Biden himself. His itinerary included the UN General Assembly, the New York Stock Exchange, and a private meeting with Joe Biden (something the U.S. president was so ashamed of, he kept it off his public calendar). All week, Marcos made clear his intent to continue undemocratic and violent repression of dissent; defense of the interests of big landlords and overseas corporations / “investors”; labor export policies; welcoming ever increasing foreign plunder of Philippine labor, land, and natural resources. HOWEVER, at virtually every stop Marcos made across New Jersey and New York, the Filipino-American community mobilized in force to express their anger and their will to resist fascism, struggle for genuine democracy, and achieve true sovereignty for their people.

AND RIGHT HERE IN TEXAS, the U.S. state with the 3rd-largest Filipino population, the movement for a genuinely liberated Philippines is alive and well - made evident by both a downtown Dallas highway banner drop with Malaya Movement Texas that same week, and by our cultivation of community in Texas over the past few years.

WHO ARE WE? WHAT DO WE DO? We are the Dallas chapter of the International Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) - a global network of organizations concerned about the human rights situation in the Philippines and committed to campaigning for lasting peace in the country. Through education, mobilizations, and mutual movement support, we integrate the Filipino struggle with the unique struggles of the peoples of Texas - ultimately building stronger solidarity between the two. By building people power with other DFW community organizations, DCHRP highlights how the root causes of exploitation and repression of both the Philippines and all oppressed peoples originate from economic and political forces within the state of Texas itself.

JOIN US as this movement and its work grows in Texas, via the link in our bio! Ang tao, ang bayan, ngayon ay lumalaban!

http://bit.ly/dchrpinterest

Malaya Movement Texas

On December 10, International Human Rights Day, 6 unionists and 1 journalist were illegally arrested in the Philippines. They are now among the 650+ political prisoners in the country.

Join us this Sunday for an online vigil demanding their release.

Register at tinyurl.com/hrday7vigil

Reach out to your House of Representatives and Senate members wherever you are and ask that they join the movement for human rights and democracy in the Philippines and cosponsor the Philippine Human Rights Act today! You can learn more about this legislation and sign on as an endorser at www.humanrightph.org

SAN ANTONIO FOLKS:

We are calling on Congressman Joaquin Castro to join the broad coalition supporting human rights and democracy in the Philippines and sign on as a cosponsor of the Philippine Human Rights Act (H.R. 8313)! Make sure to have your voice heard as a constituent and let Representative Castro know that you support the Philippine Human Rights Act and are calling for the US to stop giving weapons and military support to the Philippines until there is true peace and justice for the people of the Philippines. You can learn more about the Philippine Human Rights Act and sign on as an endorser at www.humanrights.ph.org

Contact Rep. Castro here:
-San Antonio office phone: 210-348-8216
-D.C. office phone: 202-225-3236
-Submit an online form: https://castro.house.gov/contact
-Reach out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/JoaquinCastroTX/
-Reach out on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/JoaquinCastrotx

Austin CHRP
Malaya Movement Texas

[image description: A photo of United States House Representative Joaquin Castro with text to the left reading "Joaquin Castro, Support the Philippine Human Rights Act today! We are calling for the introduction of a Philippine Human Rights Act, 'To suspend United States security assistance until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.' www.humanrightsph.org". In the bottom left of the image are the logos for Austin Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Malaya Movement Texas, and Dallas Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines.]

AUSTIN/HOUSTON FOLKS:

We are calling on Michael McCaul to join the broad coalition supporting human rights and democracy in the Philippines and sign on as a cosponsor of the Philippine Human Rights Act (H.R. 8313)! Make sure to have your voice heard as a constituent and let Representative McCaul know that you support the Philippine Human Rights Act and are calling for the US to stop giving weapons and military support to the Philippines until there is true peace and justice for the people of the Philippines. You can learn more about the Philippine Human Rights Act and sign on as an endorser at www.humanrights.ph.org

Contact Rep. McCaul here:
-Austin office phone: 512-473-2357
-Brenham office phone: 979-830-8497
-Katy office phone: 281-505-6130
-Tomball office phone: 281-255-8372
-D.C. office phone: 202-225-2401
-Submit an online form: https://mccaul.house.gov/zip-code-lookup?form=/contact/email-me
-Reach out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/michaeltmccaul
-Reach out on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RepMcCaul

Austin CHRP
Malaya Movement Texas

[image description: A photo of United States House Representative Michael McCaul with text to the left reading "Michael McCaul, Support the Philippine Human Rights Act today! We are calling for the introduction of a Philippine Human Rights Act, 'To suspend United States security assistance until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.' www.humanrightsph.org". In the bottom left of the image are the logos for Austin Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Malaya Movement Texas, and Dallas Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines.]

DALLAS FOLKS:

We are calling on Rep. Colin Allred to join the broad coalition supporting human rights and democracy in the Philippines and sign on as a cosponsor of the Philippine Human Rights Act (H.R. 8313)! Make sure to have your voice heard as a constituent and let Representative Allred know that you support the Philippine Human Rights Act and are calling for the US to stop giving weapons and military support to the Philippines until there is true peace and justice for the people of the Philippines. You can learn more about the Philippine Human Rights Act and sign on as an endorser at www.humanrights.ph.org

Contact Rep. Allred here:
-Richardson office phone: (972) 972-7949
-D.C. office phone: (202) 225-2231
-Submit an online form: https://allred.house.gov/zip-code-lookup?form=/contact/email-me
-Reach out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/RepColinAllred/
-Reach out on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RepColinAllred

Austin CHRP
Malaya Movement Texas

[image description: A photo of United States House Representative Colin Allred with text to the left reading "Colin Allred, Support the Philippine Human Rights Act today! We are calling for the introduction of a Philippine Human Rights Act, 'To suspend United States security assistance until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.' www.humanrightsph.org". In the bottom left of the image are the logos for Austin Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Malaya Movement Texas, and Dallas Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines.]

DALLAS FOLKS:

We are calling on Eddie Bernice Johnson to join the broad coalition supporting human rights and democracy in the Philippines and sign on as a cosponsor of the Philippine Human Rights Act (H.R. 8313)! Make sure to have your voice heard as a constituent and let Representative Johnson know that you support the Philippine Human Rights Act and are calling for the US to stop giving weapons and military support to the Philippines until there is true peace and justice for the people of the Philippines. You can learn more about the Philippine Human Rights Act and sign on as an endorser at www.humanrights.ph.org

Contact Rep. Johnson here:
-Dallas office phone: (214) 922-8885
-D.C. office phone: (202) 225-8885
-Submit an online form: https://ebjohnson.house.gov/contact-us
-Reach out on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CongresswomanEBJtx30
-Reach out on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RepEBJ

Austin CHRP
Malaya Movement Texas

[image description: A photo of United States House Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson with text to the left reading "Eddie Bernice Johnson, Support the Philippine Human Rights Act today! We are calling for the introduction of a Philippine Human Rights Act, 'To suspend United States security assistance until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.' www.humanrightsph.org". In the bottom left of the image are the logos for Austin Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Malaya Movement Texas, and Dallas Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines.]

North Texas Dream Team

🚨 BREAKING🚨BLACK MIGRANTS ARE BEING TORTURED BY ICE!! ICE BRUTALLY BROKE BLACK MIGRANTS FINGERS AND HANDS TO FORCE THEM TO SIGN THEIR SELF DEPORTATION!! THEIR DEPORTATION IS SET TODAY/TONIGHT/TOMORROW OUT OF DALLAS!!! RAICES, NTDT, amongst other orgs are protesting in rapid response and heading to Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas NOW!!

Rep. Susan Wild introduces Philippine Human Rights Act in US Congress

youtube.com Courtesy of Rep. Susan Wild Subscribe to Philstar news for more updates https://bit.ly/3f8Nnxt Follow us on Facebook: bit.ly/PhilstarFacebook Twitter: bit.ly...

Community Petition in Support of Specific Programming for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

docs.google.com The Metro Dallas Youth Committee includes individuals from 37 organizations committed to reversing the conditions of youth homelessness in Dallas and Collin County. The Metro Dallas Youth Committee was formed to provide a strategy to engage in advocacy, education and awareness, and resource provisio...

“Join us along with the Defend Negros campaign for an international webinar on Sept 7 for a Global Day of Action Against the Killings off Human Rights Defenders. 3pm (HST) 6pm (PST) 7pm (MST) 8pm (CST) 9pm (EST).”

RSVP: http://tiny.cc/GlobalActionUS

Palestine Solidarity Committee - Austin, Texas

Today at 3 PM, the Anti-Defamation League is co-hosting a conversation about the history of inequality and long-standing legacies of racism in Austin. While this event may seem progressive at face-value, we are calling on the speakers, Pamela Benson Owens and kYmberly Keeton to rise to the national call by many advocacy organizations to .

Pamela Benson Owens, the Interim Director of Six Square and founder of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, and kYmberly Keeton, an African American Community Archivist and Librarian at the Austin History Center, are long-time community advocates and leaders, standing for oppressed people in our communities. However, we know the ADL has a history of silencing the voices of our communities and our movements.

“Today, the ADL is the single largest non-governmental police trainer in the country. The ADL 2016 annual report boasted that 100% of major US metropolitan police departments have sent participants to Israel and the ADL’s Advanced Training School in Extremist and Terrorist Threats. These trainings deepen the militarized, racialized policing of US neighborhoods, treating low-income neighborhoods and communities of color as counterinsurgent “human terrain,” just as Israeli forces view the Palestinian communities they occupy. Shared counterinsurgency tactics include the use of “less-lethal” munitions for crowd control — meaning weapons that “only” maim and can be used by police against local populations.” -https://droptheadl.org/the-adl-is-not-an-ally/

The harm they have enacted in our communities includes repressing community activism especially in Black and Muslim communities, encouraging the filming of protests such as in Charlottesville, NC, increasing surveillance of Muslim communities, and attempting to delegitimize any civil rights organization that shows any form of support for Palestinian rights- including the Movement for Black Lives - contradicting their mission to “secure justice and fair treatment for all”.

Many well-intentioned individuals and organizations partner with the ADL not knowing its ongoing legacy of supporting racist policing, surveillance, colonialism, and the silencing of social justice activism. Misinformation about the ADL’s work, and its infiltration of movements for justice, are what allow the ADL to continue harming social justice movements.

This event is a tactic used by the ADL as a means to cover up their right wing agenda and maintain a progressive image in the public eye. We join local organizations like allgo: a q***r people of color organization and national organizations with local chapters such as the National Lawyers Guild, Jewish Voice for Peace, the Movement 4 Black Lives, Mijente, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and over 100+ organizations across the country, to urge those who stand in solidarity with all communities fighting for justice not to attend this webinar and we encourage Pamela Benson Owens and kYmberly Keeton to reconsider their participation in this event and to stand on the right side of history.

For more information on the ADL visit droptheADL.org

Malaya Movement Texas

Last August 10, Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis, National Chairperson of Anakpawis Partylist and Deputy Secretary-General of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), was found dead in his Quezon City home. Erlinda Echanis, Ka Randy’s wife, identified his body and noticed signs of torture, multiple gunshots, and stabbing wounds. The PNP seized his dead body from his grieving wife and family, and they also ilegally arrested and detained Paolo Colabres, the paralegal who attended to the forced retrieval of Ka Randy’s remains, charging him with “obstruction to justice.” (https://www.bulatlat.com/2020/08/11/cops-seize-peace-consultants-remains-from-family/)

Ka Randy, a peasant leader and genuine land reform advocate, had fought against injustice and inequality throughout his life. He joined the protests against the US-Vietnam War and the Marcos regime, and organized with farmers and peasants in the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, and Ilocos. Around the time of the EDSA People Power Revolution, he had been solitarily confined, mentally tortured, and arrested as a political prisoner. Then in the late 2000s, Ka Randy continued to be a peace consultant, helping in the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) (https://rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/randall-echanis-lifelong-reform-advocate).

Multiple groups have denounced the killing of Ka Randy at the hands of the state (https://rappler.com/nation/groups-statement-randy-echanis-killing). Last August 13, Malaya Texas held a vigil for Ka Randy in Dallas and Houston. We are raising the alarm on what we see as a Duterte regime assassination of activist leaders and progressive organizations. We are condemning and opposing Duterte’s de facto Martial Law and insisting on the right to organize and advocate for the Filipino masses, the underserved, and the oppressed. See the Malaya Movement’s Official Statement on the Assassination of Randy Echanis: https://www.malayamovement.com/statements/justiceforkarandy

Justice for Ka Randy Echanis and All Victims of State Terror!
Makibaka! Huwag Matakot! Oust Duterte Now!

Philippines to finally have COVID-19 mass testing, a result of their protest

metroscenemag.com Metroscene Mag is the voice of the young, empowered and creative. A digital magazine for every person with new perspectives.

BAYAN Canada

People’s action against COVID-19 and government neglect

6 PEOPLES DEMANDS FOR SOCIOECONOMIC MEASURES

Malaya Movement Texas

Approaching Day 10 of the lockdown, the president has asked for "emergency powers" as his answer to curb COVID-19. But there was no adequate prep and plan to protect the health of the people, the frontliners, and the healthcare workers!


https://www.rappler.com/nation/255643-special-powers-bill-deal-coronavirus-duterte-signature

Anakbayan-USA

STATEMENT: Oppose Duterte and Trump’s Militarized and Neoliberal Responses to COVID-19! Build People’s Solidarity to Fight the Pandemic!

As communities around the world face the COVID-19 (“coronavirus disease 2019”) pandemic, we have seen amazing acts of grassroots people-to-people solidarity to provide food, housing, transportation, and so on for those most vulnerable and most impacted by the spread of the virus. The same cannot be said of the policies of so-called “leaders” in countries like the Philippines and the United States. After devastating periods of inaction, both presidents Duterte and Trump have looked to militarization and neoliberalism as responses to the pandemic rather than to healthcare solutions and guarantees for economic security. This should come to no surprise, as ensuring the right to healthcare and economic livelihood runs counter to the imperialist neoliberal world-order that the U.S. creates and the Philippine ruling elite enforces.

In the Philippines, the Duterte regime’s response to combatting COVID-19 has been overwhelmingly militarily-focused, with all of Metro Manila under lockdown and curfew enforced by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police, the island of Luzon under “enhanced community quarantine,” and many other cities similarly enlisting the help of armed officers to maintain “peace and order.” By choosing a militarized “solution,” the government has not prioritized: providing credible and accessible information to the masses about COVID-19; coordinating free and widespread testing and treatment; ensuring resources to maintain cleanliness, especially in vulnerable communities; proper tracking and monitoring of COVID-19 cases; and guaranteeing economic security for those whose work is severely impacted by the lockdown and curfew policies. This wanton disregard of medical solutions to the outbreak sits on top of decades of neoliberal attacks to the Philippine health care system, which has left a majority of Filipinos without access to medical care.

Counter to its supposed intent, after only a few days of implementation, Duterte’s policies have actually created the perfect conditions for the disease to spread rapidly, with thousands stuck for hours at military checkpoints that are ill-equipped to test for COVID-19 and ensure treatment for those who have it. And for some in urban poor communities, it is actually loss of livelihood brought about by the lockdown that instills more fear than COVID-19. Even overseas Filipino workers have suffered from the government’s ineptitude, with cases of seafarers trapped on cruise ships like the Grand Princess for days risking exposure to COVID-19.

The U.S. government’s response similarly reflects the grip of neoliberalism over the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Incapable of delivering a strong centralized plan of action to combat the spread of COVID-19—unlike in countries like Cuba, where no new cases have been recorded for the past 48 hours—the Trump administration has instead turned to public-private partnerships, a tired old tactic of neoliberalism that has historically fattened the wallets of private corporations at the expense of the public’s benefit. This comes after years of budget cuts to public health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Institutes for Health (NIH). To date, there still does not exist widespread access to COVID-19 testing kits in the richest country on the planet.

The U.S. government is likewise incapable of protecting the working class and poor from the shock to the economy the pandemic has made. At the most local level, vulnerable populations have felt the impact of panic buying, as well as grossly inflated prices for consumer goods (let alone the many cases of predatory resale of purchased goods by individuals). Workers whose livelihoods have suddenly vanished due to workplace closures also see no meaningful economic relief in the near future. Other vulnerable communities, such as people without housing, people in mass incarceration, migrant families still detained at the border, and many others are extended no support from the government. Even the Trump administration’s plan to cut a $1,000 check to Americans does little to address the systemic wealth inequalities in the country. What will $1,000 do to offset staggeringly high rent, debt payments, education costs, and, of course, health care expenses?

Anakbayan-USA joins the many other organizations who demand the government provide free healthcare for all, economic livelihood amid work stoppage and cuts, food security, a safeguard against evictions, a moratorium on debt payments, and so on. The $750 billion allocated to the U.S. military budget must be put toward these necessary social services for people in the country rather than helping bankroll Duterte’s militarized lockdown in the Philippines. Additionally, the U.S. must lift sanctions on countries like Iran and Cuba, not only to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, but also to allow for much needed medical equipment and treatment to reach people around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unmasked now more than ever the imperialist neoliberal world order and its inability to care for people. Trump and Duterte’s military and corporate responses to COVID-19 only serve to protect their own wealth and to ensure that their power will remain intact after the pandemic. Their capitalist self-interest comes at the expense of the exploited and oppressed majority in the U.S., Philippines, and around the world. In order to protect and sustain each other through this pandemic, we must continue building our own class solidarity: that of the working class and poor, and those who will ally themselves with the exploited majority. And after this pandemic, we must continue to strengthen and wield this solidarity to defeat the world’s most dangerous pandemic: imperialism.



[With linked resources: http://www.anakbayanusa.org/covid-19/]

Dallas Is Having A Giant Filipino Food Festival This March

Hi friends :) Lets plan on eating some delicious Filipino food on March 8!

See you there

narcity.com Mouthwatering goodness!

Into the Unknown: Growing unease felt among victims of Taal eruption as volcanic activity subsides | AlterMidya

“We know there’s billions in funds. And if those funds were released more efficiently, there would be more than enough to provide long-term rehabilitation for the victims,” Glenn explains. He is referring to the P16 billion calamity fund in the 2020 national budget, which he notes that even if it was cut by P4 billion compared to P20 billion appropriated in 2019, it is still more than enough.

“It seems the national government is not prepared to face a disaster this big. The manner in which they are releasing funds for the calamity, and the way the national government is mostly leaving immediate relief efforts to private donors, are clear red flags,” Glenn explains.

altermidya.net Instead of sighs of relief, victims of the Taal eruption are expressing growing unease.

The Palestinian people will continue to suffer from zionism and settler-colonialism at the hands of the US-Israeli regime. Their land has been stolen from them, among so many other atrocities. From Palestine to the Philippines, we connect the struggles of the people who suffer from the gross injustices of imperialism. The movement that we belong to is that of international solidarity.

i.giphy.com